This invention relates to television games and training systems and more particularly to television target shooting games and training systems.
Television games providing photosensitive guns capable of sensing large, bright target symbols on the screen of a television receiver are well known and disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,599,221; 3,728,480; 3,829,095; Re. 28,507 and Re. 28,598, all assigned to the assignee of the present application.
All of the target shooting games of the above-mentioned patents provide for the display of a distinct target spot on the screen of a television receiver which when imaged on a gunmounted, electro-optical sensor results in a series of output pulses indicating that the gun was indeed lined up properly with the target and, therefore, a "hit" had been scored. None of these systems attempted to show the user just where he was aiming when he pulled the trigger preceding a miss or for that matter how closely to the center of the target on screen he was aiming when he made a "hit".
Furthermore, all of these systems require relatively bright target spots, and if the targets are relatively dark it is difficult for the electro-optical sensor to detect the fact that a "hit" has been made.
These systems are further limited by the fact that the rifle is attached via a cable to some portion of the system limiting the mobility of the user in target shooting practice.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved means of shooting at displayed images on a television screen.
It is another object of this invention to permit shooting at a simulated target, displayed on a television screen, which may be relatively dark so as not to offer sufficient brightness to allow its detection by practical electro-optic sensing means.
It is a further object of this invention to enable the user to "shoot" at a target displayed on a television screen and have the impact point of the "projectile" displayed on the screen whether or not the target was in fact "hit".
It is yet another object of this invention to allow free standing, untethered operation of a simulated gun for a television target shooting system.